22 More COVID Deaths Reported In Utah; Over 700K Vaccines Administered

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Another 22 Utahns have died of COVID-19, according to the Utah Department of Health. Officials reported an additional 686 new cases have been confirmed. Over 700,000 vaccines have been administered.

Health officials said the deaths reported reflected the numbers of people who died specifically because of the effects of the coronavirus disease.

Nineteen of the deaths reported Saturday occurred before Feb. 6.

“The Office of the Medical Examiner conducts thorough investigations of all potential COVID-related deaths. These investigations can take several weeks to complete,” officials said.

The number of people hospitalized for the virus was 223.

The deaths bring the total number of Utahns lost to COVID-19 to 1,929 – 87 more in the last week.

Testing

Health officials reported a total of 2,201,426 Utah residents have been tested for the novel coronavirus – an increase of 6,752 since Friday and 43,290 in the last week.

Officials reported 370,770 residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began – an increase of 686 cases in the last day. Of those tested since Friday, 10.2 percent were positive. There has been an increase of 4,736 cases in the last week.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 681 per day – down over 100 since last Friday. The rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests was 12.2 percent.

Nearly 3.8 million total tests have been administered.

Vaccinations

The vaccine has been administered to 452,895 people in Utah, including health workers, educators and residents age 65 and older.

The state has administered 702,293 first and second vaccinations. Of those vaccinated, 249,398 people have been fully immunized with both doses.

According to numbers reported by the health department, 19,767 vaccines have been administered since numbers reported Friday, and nearly 104,000 in the last week.

The number of vaccines delivered to the state was nearly 821,000.

Hospitalizations

The health department reported 223 people were being treated for COVID-19 in Utah hospitals. Total hospitalizations since the pandemic began was 14,664 people.

Utah officials said 70.6 percent of the 537 ICU beds across the state were full. Of those, 89 were being used by patients confirmed to have COVID-19. An additional 29 patients in ICU beds were suspected of having COVID-19, pending additional testing.

The remaining ICU beds were used by patients with other critical medical conditions. Hospital officials have said there was staffing for around 85 percent of those beds.

Deaths

An additional 22 Utah deaths have been reported in the last day, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Officials said 19 of the deaths happened before Feb. 6, but COVID-19 had not yet been determined as the primary cause.

The latest COVID-19 deaths included 10 women and 12 men. All but two were over the age of 65, and seven had not been hospitalized. Ten were living in long-term care facilities.

There have been 1,929 total deaths of residents from the disease in the Beehive State since the pandemic began – an increase of 87 in the last week.

Beaver County

Officials reported the deaths of two Beaver County men. Both were hospitalized and being treated for COVID-19. One of the men was between the ages of 65 to 84. The other was older than 85.

The men’s deaths brought the total in the county to 6, and the total in the area covered by the Southwest Utah Health Department to 228. The health district also includes Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington counties.

Cache County

A Cache County woman between the ages of 65 to 84 was living in a long-term care facility when she succumbed the disease, health officials reported.

Her death brought the total in the county to 37, and the total in the area covered by the Bear River Health Department to 80. The department also covers Box Elder and Rich counties. Rich County was one of two counties in the state that has not reported any deaths due COVID-19.

Davis County

Officials reported the deaths of a Davis County man between the ages of 65 to 84. The man was not hospitalized.

His death brought the total in the county to 140.

Emery County

A man and a woman in Emery County were among the COVID-19 deaths reported by the health department Saturday.

The woman was older than 85 and not hospitalized. The man was between the ages of 65 to 84 and had been hospitalized for treatment.

Emery County has reported nine COVID-19 deaths, with 23 deaths in the area covered by the Southeast Utah Health Department, which also includes Carbon and Grand counties.

Salt Lake County

Seven people from Salt Lake County were among the deaths reported Saturday – including five women and two men.

All seven were between the ages of 65 to 84. Four women were in long-term care facilities, and one man had been hospitalized. One woman and one man were not hospitalized.

There have been 761 COVID-19 deaths in the state’s most populated county.

Utah County

Two women and one man from Utah County were among the numbers of COVID-19 deaths reported, according to health officials.

Both women were between the ages of 65 to 84 – one was hospitalized and the other was living in a long-term care facility.

The man was older than the age of 85 and living in a long-term care facility.

The county has reported 332 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Washington County

Officials reported the deaths of one woman and three men in Washington County. Two of the men were between the ages of 65 to 84 – one of whom was living in a long-term care facility. The other man was not hospitalized.

The woman and third man were both age 85 or older. She was living in a long-term care facility. He was not hospitalized.

The deaths brought the total in the county to 183, and the total in the area covered by the Southwest Utah Health Department to 228. The health district also includes Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington counties.

Weber County

Two Weber County men were among the latest deaths reported by health officials. Both were between the ages of 45 to 64. One was living in a long-term care facility, and the other was not hospitalized.

The deaths brought the total of COVID fatalities in the county to 168, and the number in the area covered by the Weber-Morgan Health Department to 179.

The department also covers Morgan County, where there have been 11 deaths.

National/Worldwide Numbers

There have been just under 28.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States – with around 500,000 new cases in the last week.

Over 510,000 Americans have died of the disease, according to numbers compiled by the Coronavirus Resource Center at John Hopkins University.

Across the globe there have been over 113.5 million cases and 2,519,713 deaths – nearly 60,000 in the last week, down from nearly 150,000 in the week before.

With just 4 percent of the worldwide population, the United States has accounted for 25.1 percent of the global cases and 20.3 percent of the deaths since the pandemic began.

With one percent of the US population, Utah has accounted for about 0.4 percent of the country’s deaths, meaning the state has fared better than the national average in mortality rates.

The first US case was confirmed on January 21, 2020. The number of new cases in the nation has skyrocketed in November, with a spike significantly higher than any other country.

During the 2019-2020 flu season, an estimates 38 million people caught the influenza virus, requiring 18 million doctor visits and causing 22,000 deaths, according for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Around 35,900 deaths have been attributed to the flu annually, going back to the 2010-2011 flu season. Only twice during that time has the number of deaths exceeded 50,000 – once in 2014-2015, when there were 51,000 deaths, and again in 2017-2018, when there were an estimates 61,000 deaths.

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Coronavirus Resources

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What is COVID-19? Here’s What You Need To Know To Stay Healthy: ksltv.com/432037/what-is-covid-19/

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Where in the world has the coronavirus already appeared? See the map: ksltv.com/?p=432035

Your Life Your Health: How can parents prepare their home, children against coronavirus: ksltv.com/?p=432060

How do I prevent it?

The CDC has some simple recommendations, most of which are the same for preventing other respiratory illnesses or the flu:

• Avoid close contact with people who may be sick
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Always wash your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
• If soap and water is not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

The CDC does not recommend wearing a face mask respirator to protect yourself from coronavirus unless a healthcare professional recommends it.